[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 173 (Thursday, September 8, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53297-53300]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-17758]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

27 CFR Part 9

[T.D. TTB-32; Re: Notice No. 30]
RIN 1513-AA67


Expansion of the Russian River Valley Viticultural Area (2003R-
144T)

AGENCY: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule; Treasury decision.

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SUMMARY: This Treasury decision expands by 30,200 acres the existing 
Russian River Valley viticultural area in Sonoma County, California, to 
a total of 126,600 acres. We designate viticultural areas to allow 
vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow 
consumers to better identify wines they may purchase.

DATES: Effective October 11, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Sutton, Regulations and 
Procedures Division, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, 925 
Lakeville St., No. 158, Petaluma, California 94952; telephone (415) 
271-1254.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background on Viticultural Areas

TTB Authority

    Section 105(e) of the Federal Alcohol Administration Act (the FAA 
Act, 27 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) requires that alcohol beverage labels 
provide the consumer with adequate information regarding a product's 
identity and prohibits the use of misleading information on such 
labels. The FAA Act also authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to 
issue regulations to carry out its provisions. The Alcohol and Tobacco 
Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) administers these regulations.
    Part 4 of the TTB regulations (27 CFR part 4) allows the 
establishment of definitive viticultural areas and the use of their 
names as appellations of origin on wine labels and in wine 
advertisements. Part 9 of the TTB regulations (27 CFR part 9) contains 
the list of approved viticultural areas.

Definition

    Section 4.25(e)(1)(i) of the TTB regulations (27 CFR 4.25(e)(1)(i)) 
defines a viticultural area for American wine as a delimited grape-
growing region distinguishable by geographical features, the boundaries 
of which have been recognized and defined in part 9 of the regulations. 
These designations allow vintners and consumers to attribute a given 
quality, reputation, or other characteristic of a wine made from grapes 
grown in an area to its geographic origin. The establishment of 
viticultural areas allows vintners to describe more accurately the 
origin of their wines to consumers and helps consumers to identify 
wines they may purchase. Establishment of a viticultural area is 
neither an approval nor an endorsement by TTB of the wine produced in 
that area.

Requirements

    Section 4.25(e)(2) of the TTB regulations outlines the procedure 
for proposing an American viticultural area and provides that any 
interested party may petition TTB to establish a grape-growing region 
as a viticultural area. Section 9.3(b) of the TTB regulations requires 
the petition to include--
     Evidence that the proposed viticultural area is locally 
and/or nationally known by the name specified in the petition;
     Historical or current evidence that supports setting the 
boundary of the proposed viticultural area as the petition specifies;
     Evidence relating to the geographical features, such as 
climate, soils, elevation, and physical features, that distinguish the 
proposed viticultural area from surrounding areas;
     A description of the specific boundary of the proposed 
viticultural area, based on features found on United States Geological 
Survey (USGS) maps; and
     A copy of the appropriate USGS map(s) with the proposed 
viticultural area's boundary prominently marked.

Russian River Valley Petition and Rulemaking

General Background

    TTB received a petition from the Russian River Valley Winegrowers, 
a wine industry association based in Fulton, California, proposing a 
30,200-acre expansion of the established 96,000-acre Russian River 
Valley viticultural area (27 CFR 9.66). The viticultural area, located 
in central Sonoma County, California, is about 50 miles north of San 
Francisco.
    Currently, the Russian River Valley viticultural area boundary 
surrounds areas north and west of Santa Rosa, north of Sebastopol, east 
of the Bohemian Highway (about 7 miles inland from the Pacific coast), 
and south of Healdsburg.
    This viticultural area also encompasses all of the Chalk Hill

[[Page 53298]]

viticultural area (27 CFR 9.52) in its northeastern corner and all but 
a small portion of the Sonoma County Green Valley viticultural area (27 
CFR 9.57) to its southwest.
    The Russian River Valley viticultural area is one of several 
viticultural areas lying entirely within the Northern Sonoma 
viticultural area (27 CFR 9.70), which lies largely within the Sonoma 
Coast viticultural area (27 CFR 9.116). Moreover, the Northern Sonoma 
and Sonoma Coast viticultural areas are both entirely within the vast 
North Coast viticultural area (27 CFR 9.30).
    The 30,200-acre proposed expansion of the Russian River Valley 
viticultural area would add areas to the east and south of the area's 
originally established boundary, bringing its total size to about 
126,600 acres. The proposed expansion would include areas with a mix of 
rural, suburban, and urban land uses between Santa Rosa and Mendocino 
Avenues in Santa Rosa. To the south, the proposed expanded boundary 
would incorporate the remainder of the Sonoma County Green Valley 
viticultural area, as well as a large rural region to the west, south, 
and east of Sebastopol.
    Below, we summarize the evidence presented in the petition.

Name Evidence

    The proposed expansion area to the east and south of the Russian 
River Valley viticultural area is commonly referred to as the Russian 
River Valley. A State of California hydrology map shows that the 
Russian River Valley, including the proposed expansion area, is within 
the Russian River Valley watershed.
    An article from the July 2002 Wine Enthusiast magazine (page 31) 
described the Russian River Valley as ``the box-shaped region that 
extends from Healdsburg to Santa Rosa in the east, and from Occidental 
to Guerneville in the west.'' This description includes the areas to be 
included in the proposed eastern boundary expansion. The 1996 ``Wine 
Country'' guidebook (page 196) provides a ``Russian River Region'' map 
that includes the east and south sides of the proposed expanded 
boundary.
    The Homes and Land real estate magazine lists a ``Russian River 
Appellation Vineyard Estate'' on pages 32 and 33 of Volume 18, No. 7, 
published in the summer of 2002. This estate is within the eastern 
portion of the proposed expansion area.
    The Wine News June/July 2002 magazine includes an article titled 
``Russian River Valley Pinot Noir's Promised Land'' that discusses this 
winegrowing area. On page 60, it notes that the 24-acre Meredith 
Vineyard is ``located at the southern end of the RRV [Russian River 
Valley].'' This vineyard is in the proposed expansion area as well, as 
noted on the United States Geological Survey Sebastopol quadrangle map.

Boundary Evidence

    Historically, agriculture in the proposed expansion area has 
included apples, prunes, cherries, berries, grapes, and other crops. 
Local resident Lee Bondi recalls that in the early 1900s his family 
made wine from Palomino grapes on their ranch in the proposed expansion 
area. Dena Bondelie, also a resident living in the proposed expansion 
area, remembers her father talking about the Zinfandel wine made by her 
grandfather at their Darby Lane property.
    Tom Henderson, an area resident, recalls that during World War II 
his grandparents grew berries, corn, pumpkins, and acorn squash to 
supplement their apple crop, on their Sander Road property. Merry 
Edwards, a current resident, states that when she first moved to the 
area in 1977, it was heavily planted with apples. Today, some of the 
apple and prune orchards are being replaced with vineyards because of 
changing agricultural markets.
    As of spring 2003, there were approximately 1,070 acres planted to 
grapes within the proposed expansion area of the Russian River Valley 
viticultural area, with another 200 acres under development for 
commercial viticulture purposes.

Distinguishing Features

    Treasury Decision ATF-159 of October 21, 1983 (48 FR 48813), 
established the Russian River Valley viticultural area. This Treasury 
Decision stated:

    The Russian River viticultural area includes those areas through 
which flow the Russian River or some of its tributaries and where 
there is a significant climate effect from coastal fogs. The 
specific growing climate is the principal distinctive characteristic 
of the Russian River Valley viticultural area. The area designated 
is a cool growing coastal area because of fog intruding up the 
Russian River and its tributaries during the early morning hours.
Climate
    Fog is the single most unifying and significant feature of the 
previously established Russian River Valley viticultural area. The 
30,200-acre proposed expansion area also has heavy fog as documented by 
Robert Sisson, Sonoma County Viticulture Farm Advisor Emeritus, on his 
1976 map titled ``Lines of Heaviest and Average Maximum Fog Intrusion 
for Sonoma County.''
    The expansion petition and Treasury Decision ATF-159 both refer to 
the Winkler degree-day system, which classifies grape-growing climatic 
regions. (The degree-day system is described as the total summation of 
accumulated heat units (degrees of temperature) that are above 50 
degrees F during each day of the typical growing season from April to 
October. See ``General Viticulture,'' Albert J. Winkler, University of 
California Press, 1975.) As noted in Treasury Decision ATF-159, ``The 
Russian River Valley viticultural area is termed ``coastal cool'' with 
a range of 2,000 to 2,800 accumulated heat units.''
    The petition provides growing season temperature data from 2001 for 
four vineyards within the proposed expansion area.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Degree days
                        Vineyard                           (accumulated
                                                            heat units)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Le Carrefour............................................           2,636
Osley East..............................................           2,567
Osley West..............................................           2,084
Bloomfield..............................................           2,332
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The table above shows that the degree days for all four vineyards 
fall within the 2,000 to 2,800 accumulated heat units range of 
Winkler's ``coastal cool'' climate. The evidence confirms that these 
vineyards in the proposed expansion area have the same grape-growing 
climate as found within the originally established Russian River Valley 
viticultural area.
Elevation
    The terrain of the proposed expansion area ranges in elevation from 
about 70 feet east of Sebastopol, to around 800 feet to the west, 
toward Occidental. These elevations are similar to those found within 
most of the originally established Russian River Valley viticultural 
area.
Soils
    There is a similar range and diversity of soils in the proposed 
expansion area and in the originally established Russian River Valley 
viticultural area. Although Treasury Decision ATF-159 does not identify 
unique soils within the originally established viticultural area, the 
similarity of soils is documented on the Sonoma County Soil Survey maps 
(Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, U.S. Forest 
Service, and University of California Agricultural Experiment Station, 
undated) on survey sheets 65, 66, 73, 74, 80, 82, 88, 89, 96, and 97.

[[Page 53299]]

    The predominant soils within the proposed expansion area include 
Huichica Loam, Yolo Clay Loam, and Yolo Silt Loam. These soils are 
depicted on sheet 74 of the Sonoma County Soil Survey. The same soils 
are also present in the northern region vineyards of the current 
Russian River Valley viticultural area, as documented on pages 57 and 
66 of the soil survey.
Watershed
    The Russian River watershed, unit 18010110, as depicted on 
the 1978 State of California Hydrology map, covers the Russian River 
Valley viticultural area and the proposed expansion area. Specifically, 
the watershed extends from the southern part of Lake Mendocino to 
Sonoma Mountain, and from the west side of Mt. St. Helena to Jenner, 
where the Russian River meets the Pacific Ocean. Treasury Decision, 
ATF-159 states that the Russian River Valley viticultural area 
``includes those areas through which flow the Russian River or some of 
its tributaries.''

Boundary Description

    The proposed expanded boundary deviates from the established 
boundary at a point east of Highway 101, along Mark West Springs Road. 
From that point, the expanded boundary line, in a clockwise direction, 
travels south to Todd Road in Santa Rosa. It then meanders west, with a 
southward bulge south of Sebastopol that incorporates the crossroads 
hamlet of Knowles Corners. Passing north of the town of Bloomfield, the 
proposed expanded boundary continues northwest of Freestone, where it 
rejoins the originally established boundary.
    For a detailed description of the proposed change to the Russian 
River Valley's boundary, see the changes to the narrative boundary 
description of the viticultural area in the amended regulatory text 
published at the end of this notice.

Maps

    The petitioner provided the required maps, and we list them below 
in the amended regulatory text.

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

    TTB published a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the 
proposed expansion of the Russian River Valley viticultural area in the 
Federal Register as Notice No. 30 on January 31, 2005 (70 FR 4797). In 
that notice, TTB requested comments by April 1, 2005, from all 
interested persons.
    TTB received three comments in response to Notice No. 30. One 
commenter requested an additional 90 days to study the petition but 
then withdrew the request shortly after submitting it. Two other 
comments supported the viticultural area expansion. One of the 
supporting comments indicates that the expansion of the original 
Russian River Valley viticultural area corrects the ``previously 
illogical boundaries'' designated by the 1983 establishment of the 
Russian River Valley viticultural area. The other supportive comment 
states that the proposed expansion more accurately takes into account 
the natural boundaries and the unique climate of the Russian River 
Valley viticultural area.

TTB Finding

    After careful review of the petition and the comments received, TTB 
finds that the evidence submitted supports the proposed expansion of 
the Russian River Valley viticultural area. Therefore, under the 
authority of the Federal Alcohol Administration Act and part 4 of our 
regulations, we expand the boundaries of the ``Russian River Valley'' 
viticultural area in Sonoma County, California, as proposed, effective 
30 days from this document's publication date.

Impact on Current Wine Labels

    Part 4 of the TTB regulations prohibits any label reference on a 
wine that indicates or implies an origin other than the wine's true 
place of origin. The proposed expansion of the Russian River Valley 
viticultural area will not affect currently approved wine labels. The 
adoption of this expansion may allow additional vintners to use 
``Russian River Valley'' as an appellation of origin on their wine 
labels. For a wine to be eligible to use as an appellation of origin 
the name of a viticultural area specified in part 9 of the TTB 
regulations, at least 85 percent of the grapes used to make the wine 
must have been grown within the area represented by that name, and the 
wine must meet the other conditions listed in 27 CFR 4.25(e)(3). 
Different rules apply if a wine has a brand name containing a 
viticultural area name that was used as a brand name on a label 
approved before July 7, 1986. See 27 CFR 4.39(i)(2) for details.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    We certify that this regulation will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. This 
regulation imposes no new reporting, recordkeeping, or other 
administrative requirement. Any benefit derived from the use of a 
viticultural area name is the result of a proprietor's efforts and 
consumer acceptance of wines from that area. Therefore, no regulatory 
flexibility analysis is required.

Executive Order 12866

    This rule is not a significant regulatory action as defined by 
Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735). Therefore, it requires no 
regulatory assessment.

Drafting Information

    Nancy Sutton of the Regulations and Procedures Division drafted 
this document.

List of Subjects in 27 CFR Part 9

    Wine.

The Regulatory Amendment

0
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, we amend 27 CFR, chapter 1, 
part 9, as follows:

PART 9--AMERICAN VITICULTURAL AREAS

0
1. The authority citation for part 9 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 27 U.S.C. 205.

Subpart C--Approved American Viticultural Areas

0
2. Amend Sec.  9.66 by revising paragraphs (b) and (c)(8) through 
(c)(14), redesignating paragraphs (c)(15) through (c)(26) as (c)(23) 
through (c)(34), and adding new paragraphs (c)(15) through (c)(22) to 
read as follows:


Sec.  9.66  Russian River Valley.

* * * * *
    (b) Approved maps. The appropriate maps for determining the 
boundaries of the Russian River Valley viticultural area are 11 United 
States Geological Survey 1:24,000 Scale topographic maps. They are 
titled:
    (1) Healdsburg, California Quadrangle--Sonoma Co., 7.5 Minute 
Series, edition of 1993;
    (2) Guerneville, California Quadrangle--Sonoma Co., 7.5 Minute 
Series, edition of 1993;
    (3) Cazadero, California Quadrangle--Sonoma Co., 7.5 Minute Series, 
edition of 1978;
    (4) Duncans Mills California Quadrangle--Sonoma Co., 7.5 Minute 
Series, edition of 1979;
    (5) Camp Meeker, California Quadrangle--Sonoma Co., 7.5 Minute 
Series, edition of 1995;
    (6) Valley Ford, California Quadrangle, 7.5 Minute Series, edition 
of 1954; photorevised 1971;

[[Page 53300]]

    (7) Two Rock, California Quadrangle, 7.5 Minute Series, edition of 
1954; photorevised 1971;
    (8) Sebastopol, California Quadrangle--Sonoma Co., 7.5 Minute 
Series, edition of 1954; photorevised 1980;
    (9) Santa Rosa, California Quadrangle--Sonoma Co., 7.5 Minute 
Series, edition of 1954; and
    (10) Mark West Springs, California Quadrangle, 7.5 Minute Series, 
edition of 1998, and
    (11) Jimtown, California Quadrangle--Sonoma Co., 7.5 Minute Series, 
edition of 1993.
    (c) Boundaries. * * *
* * * * *
    (8) Proceed southeast along the Bohemian Highway, crossing over the 
Camp Meeker map, to the town of Freestone, where the highway intersects 
at BM 214 with an unnamed medium-duty road (known locally as Bodega 
Road, section 12, T6N, R10W, on the Valley Ford map).
    (9) Proceed 0.9 mile northeast on Bodega Road to its intersection, 
at BM 486, with Jonvive Road to the north and an unnamed light duty 
road to the south, (known locally as Barnett Valley Road, T6N, R9W, on 
the Camp Meeker map).
    (10) Proceed 2.2 miles south, and then east, on Barnett Valley 
Road, crossing over the Valley Ford map, to its intersection with 
Burnside Road in section 17, T6N, R9W, on the Two Rock map.
    (11) Proceed 3.3 miles southeast on Burnside Road to its 
intersection with an unnamed medium duty road at BM 375, T6N, R9W, on 
the Two Rock map.
    (12) Proceed 0.6 mile straight southeast to an unnamed 610-foot 
elevation peak, 1.5 miles southwest of Canfield School, T6N, R9W, on 
the Two Rock map.
    (13) Proceed 0.75 mile straight east-southeast to an unnamed 641-
foot elevation peak, 1.4 miles south-southwest of Canfield School, T6N, 
R9W, on the Two Rock map.
    (14) Proceed 0.85 mile straight northeast to the intersection with 
an unnamed intermittent stream and Canfield Road; continue 0.3 mile 
straight in the same northeast line of direction to its intersection 
with the common boundary of Ranges 8 and 9, just west of an unnamed 
unimproved dirt road, T6N, on the Two Rock map.
    (15) Proceed 1.8 miles straight north along the common Range 8 and 
9 boundary line to its intersection with Blucher Creek, T6N, on the Two 
Rock map.
    (16) Proceed 1.25 miles generally northeast along Blucher Creek to 
its intersection with Highway 116, also known as Gravenstein Highway, 
in section 18, T6N, R8W, on the Two Rock map.
    (17) Proceed 0.2 mile straight southeast along Highway 116 to its 
intersection with an unnamed light duty road to the north in section 
18, T6N, R8W, on the Two Rock map.
    (18) Proceed 0.1 mile straight northwest along the unnamed light 
duty road to its intersection with an unnamed medium-duty road to the 
east, (known as Todd Road in section 18, T6N, R8W, on the Two Rock 
map).
    (19) Proceed 4.8 miles east, north, and east again along Todd Road, 
a medium-duty road, crossing over the Sebastopol map and then passing 
over U.S. Highway 101 and continuing straight east 0.1 mile to Todd 
Road's intersection with Santa Rosa Avenue, a primary road that is 
generally parallel to U.S. Highway 101, in section 2, T6N, R8W, on the 
Santa Rosa map.
    (20) Proceed 5.8 miles generally north along Santa Rosa Avenue, 
which becomes Mendocino Avenue, to its intersection with an unnamed 
secondary road, known locally as Bicentennial Way, 0.3 mile north-
northwest of BM 161 on Mendocino Avenue, section 11, T7N, R8W, on the 
Santa Rosa map.
    (21) Proceed 2.5 miles straight north, crossing over the 906-foot 
elevation peak in section 35 of the Santa Rosa map, to its intersection 
with Mark West Springs Road and the meandering 280-foot elevation in 
section 26, T8N, R8W, of the Mark West Springs map.
    (22) Proceed 4.8 miles north-northwest along Mark West Springs 
Road, which becomes Porter Creek Road, to its intersection with Franz 
Valley Road, a light-duty road to the north of Porter Creek Road, in 
section 12, T8N, R8W, on the Mark West Springs map.
* * * * *

    Signed: July 6, 2005.
John J. Manfreda,
Administrator.
    Approved: August 12, 2005.
Timothy E. Skud,
Deputy Assistant Secretary (Tax, Trade, and Tariff Policy).
[FR Doc. 05-17758 Filed 9-7-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-31-P